Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Thompson, Curry outshine Westbrook as Warriors down Thunder

LOS ANGELES -- Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry outgunned Russell Westbrook as the Golden State Warriors scored an emphatic 111-95 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

Thompson poured on 34 points while Curry finished with 23 on a below-par night for Westbrook, who was restricted to 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Thompson made 12 of 21 from the field and sunk seven of 15 attempts from three-point range, reviving memories of his heroics in last season's playoffs when he blitzed the Thunder with a stream of three-pointers.

"I don't think it's anything particular," Thompson said when asked about his habit of delivering against Oklahoma City.

"I've been playing well the last few games. Got a lot of great looks today. It's as simple as knocking them down."

"Ain't nothing going through my mind but to protect my teammates," Westbrook said when asked about the scrap. "That's what was going through my mind."

When play resumed, the Warriors won the tap and found Curry, who unfurled a trademark long-range effort to make it 59-39 at the half.

Westbrook and Oladipo inspired a 13-5 Oklahoma run at the start of the second half to give the Thunder hope.

But Curry and Thompson responded with a slew of three-pointers to halt the Thunder's momentum.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr was satisfied by the way his team responded after Westbrook's rally early in the second half.

"We knew it was coming," Kerr said.

"We're on their home floor. Russell did not have a great first half. We knew he would come out attacking. He attacked the rim a couple of times. We just weathered the storm," added Kerr, singling out JaVale McGee for praise.

"(He) came in and had a huge impact. Getting his hands on a lot of rebounds, deflections. He just got his hand on the ball and created extra deflections for us. Obviously, we had Steph and Klay going from 3-point land," he said.